Nightmare clients...part deux

[MacArtist]

I work with large equipment manufacturers for one of my freelance projects.

The marketing person asks if I can take a profile shot of one of their utility trucks and find a stock photo of a forest scene with a long, winding road and make the truck appear like it's traveling down that road.

The first thing that comes to mind is this lady is smoking crack while listening to The Beatles.

The next thing is I operate in two dimensions but obviously this lady's imagination knows no such physical limitation.

That last thing I ask myself is why I didn't pick an easier profession like being a doctor or lawyer?

Of course this request comes 6 days past deadline.

So what's the weirdest request you've had at your job? That one thing that makes you want to slap the person asking it or at the very least drown your sorrows in a tall glass of your favorite poison.

[papercup]

That is a normal, do-able request.

Where is the problem? ( assuming you are a retoucher, and they have a budget)

[Seacrest]

No, this lady is watching too many movies where they just 'perform' these kind of miracles in a few seconds, while the bad guy is bearing down on them, and the WHOLE BUILDING IS ABOUT TO BLOW.

She may be smoking crack as well, but her expectation that you execute this task quickly and easily does not offer sufficient supportive evidence for that assertion. Though you may have other corroborative evidence, such as that funny 'crackhead' smell, the white powdery lips, and the constant scratching*.


*Everything I know about crackheads was learnt from Chappelle's Show.

[OWC Jamie]

I had someone ask why I didn't have a website once.

[SteveO]

This is a constant request and it is always the worst b/c it is usually impossible. It happens when I present 3 or 4 creative campaign concepts. Most of you in the biz should recognize it. If you don't, you haven't been in the biz long enough!

"Can we take this [xyz element] from this campaign and combine it with

[MacArtist]

[quote papercup]That is a normal, do-able request.

Where is the problem? ( assuming you are a retoucher, and they have a budget)
Well....

I don't have hours to look for said winding road picture.

Last time I checked a winding road consists of turns otherwise how do you know it is winding and not just a garden variety straight road. The truck is a profile so all I can do is play with the perspective of the side truck. What are you going to do about the lack of any other visible planes of the object? Perspective 101.

And last but not least. They don't have squat for a budget, so who here wants to donate their time?

[blooz]

My antique stove client likes to give me pictures of rooms and asks me to put his stoves in them. Usually the angle of the room picture does not match the angle of the stove shot. On the upside, he doesn't bitch when i tell him it won't work.
After reading this forum for so long, I really appreciate a client who listens to me.

[jdc]

so the answer is "no, i cant, sorry, its just not possible..."

[Ombligo]

Tell them it would be faster and easier to drive a truck along a road and shoot a photo, then give them a number for a photographer.

[MacArtist]

[quote blooz] After reading this forum for so long, I really appreciate a client who listens to me.
Amen, blooz!